Operation Sindoor still on, says Kiren Rijiju after all-party meeting

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said that India's 'Operation Sindoor' is an ongoing operation, following an all-party meeting convened at Parliament.

Rijiju also praised the opposition leaders and said, "The meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who briefed the leaders about 'Operation Sindoor.' He further added that 'all the leaders gave their suggestions, and they have shown maturity at a time when we are all working together. Everyone has hailed and congratulated the armed forces for Operation Sindoor, and said that we will support the government and armed forces. We have received a few suggestions as well... The Defence Minister said we don't form the government just to rule."

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge reiterated their support to the government. He said, "In the moment of crisis, we are with the government."

Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, J P Nadda, and Nirmala Sitharaman represented the government, while Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge from the Congress, Sandip Bandyopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress, and DMK's T R Baalu were among the leading opposition figures in the meeting. Other opposition leaders included Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Sanjay Singh of the AAP, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule, BJD's Sasmit Patra, and CPI(M)'s John Brittas.

JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, Union minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan, and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi were also part of the meeting.

Tensions escalate between India and Pakistan

The meeting was the second one in a fortnight, as tensions escalated between India and Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed.

The all-party meeting came in the wake of Operation Sindoor, carried out by the Indian armed forces in the early hours of Wednesday. The armed forces carried out coordinated missile strikes at nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack, India downgraded its diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a series of punitive measures, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and the shutdown of the Attari border for all movements. The Centre also blocked over 15 Pakistani YouTube channels and accounts of some Pakistani celebrities including Hania Amir, Mahira Khan, and Ali Zafar.